pridecity
Patients took over asylum
Finally after almost a year of having Banana, my first leopard gecko, I have found something that she might actually eat. I got her from the Rocky Mountain Reptile Expo January 2010 and have had a terrible time getting her to eat. I talked to the breeder at the expo in May and we decided that maybe she wasn't eating because she was raised with other geckos. So, I bought two more - Key Lime and Tequila. Before and after getting the additional two, I'd tried mealworms (which is what the breeder feeds), crickets, prepared Leo Gecko food, waxworms (which she loved), and even home-grown maggots. That was before I heard about dubia roaches.
So, I starved them out for two months. I'd tried starving Banana out for just a month with no results. Then I tried two months. Banana looks pretty skinny now with barely a store of fat left. I cleaned the cage today and threw them all in a 6qt. I caught my smallest roaches and put them in another 6qt with Banana in it. She ate two. I really can't ask for more because my smallest roaches are pretty big. I decided to use half of the money I could use for electricity to buy 500 mixed roaches. I figured, if I can get the leos and spiders to eat them consistently, then I can save $30 a month on crickets where half of them die.
So, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I'm going to wait until I get the order in until I try to feed roaches again. Key Lime, who is my second best eater had a tough time with her one roach. She had to pick the biggest one. Tequila however, is the best eater and her size shows it. She'll eat anything. I do, of course, have mealworms in a bowl until the lot of roaches comes in. I doubt they will be eaten (I'm also waiting on 10,000 mealworms to come in because the turtle Fish likes them).
I know the first thing someone will ask is "what is your setup?" So, I'll answer that right now. 20 gallon long, paper towels with regular hand towel over heat pad to prevent burns. One water bowl, cleaned every three days at the moment. One bowl of mealworms switched out every two days to keep gut-loaded available. One small bowl of calcium changed monthly. Two hides until I have the money to build them a bigger cage (probably 5x2x2). Heat is a 75-87 gradient. I'm debating on adding a heat emitter for the winter because that 75 degrees will lower to mid-60s. I also have a deli cup full of moss that I try to keep nice and wet. They like laying in it, especially if it's wet. I think they think their tropical instead of arid lizards. When one is shedding, I move the deli cup over the heat pad to increase humidity. Key Lime has a terrible time with her toes shedding and she hates when I have to shed her myself.
So, I starved them out for two months. I'd tried starving Banana out for just a month with no results. Then I tried two months. Banana looks pretty skinny now with barely a store of fat left. I cleaned the cage today and threw them all in a 6qt. I caught my smallest roaches and put them in another 6qt with Banana in it. She ate two. I really can't ask for more because my smallest roaches are pretty big. I decided to use half of the money I could use for electricity to buy 500 mixed roaches. I figured, if I can get the leos and spiders to eat them consistently, then I can save $30 a month on crickets where half of them die.
So, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I'm going to wait until I get the order in until I try to feed roaches again. Key Lime, who is my second best eater had a tough time with her one roach. She had to pick the biggest one. Tequila however, is the best eater and her size shows it. She'll eat anything. I do, of course, have mealworms in a bowl until the lot of roaches comes in. I doubt they will be eaten (I'm also waiting on 10,000 mealworms to come in because the turtle Fish likes them).
I know the first thing someone will ask is "what is your setup?" So, I'll answer that right now. 20 gallon long, paper towels with regular hand towel over heat pad to prevent burns. One water bowl, cleaned every three days at the moment. One bowl of mealworms switched out every two days to keep gut-loaded available. One small bowl of calcium changed monthly. Two hides until I have the money to build them a bigger cage (probably 5x2x2). Heat is a 75-87 gradient. I'm debating on adding a heat emitter for the winter because that 75 degrees will lower to mid-60s. I also have a deli cup full of moss that I try to keep nice and wet. They like laying in it, especially if it's wet. I think they think their tropical instead of arid lizards. When one is shedding, I move the deli cup over the heat pad to increase humidity. Key Lime has a terrible time with her toes shedding and she hates when I have to shed her myself.
